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Hello beauties! I hope all of you are doing well. I'm so glad that I'm able to squeeze in one more quick review before signing off from social media for a few days.

I have heard so much hype about the Armani Eyes To Kill mascara that I just had to try it out for myself. Who wouldn't want to try a mascara that so many claim to give amazing dramatic lashes? At around $30 I would hope that this mascara would be amazing! When I got this home, I realized that I got the Excess version rather than the original. The Excess has a different shaped brush, and is supposed to be darker with some kind of wax in the mascara. I do wish that I had the original for comparison, but that certainly won't stop me from reviewing.

bare lashes

1 coat

2 coats

3 coats

This mascara builds really nicely. With the first coat, I get long separated lashes and more and more volume as it builds up. As you can see, I kept getting mascara on my eyelids, but that's pretty typical for me. I really like this mascara, but I had a negative first impression. The first time I used it I found it to be too clumpy. The next time I tried it, I liked it. I only bring this up because I'm that way with a lot of mascaras. I like it better after it has been opened for a day. Maybe I just like a drier mascara. I don't know. Any of you like that?Pros:Builds up really wellDoesn't clumpLength and volume (at the same time!)Cons:ExpensiveOverall, I really like the Armani Eyes to Kill Excess mascara. I'm not sure if this will be something I repurchase consistently, but I am curious to find out how it compares to the original. Have you tried any of the Armani mascaras? What did you think? I'm signing off from the blog for now. Have a merry Christmas! I'll catch up with you next week!-xoxo Lauren

Hello all! I hope all of you are having a fun and easy holiday season. I have been having so much fun singing in concerts and going to a couple of parties. Today, I thought I would share with you the makeup I have been wearing throughout all of these festivities. This is the makeup I wear if I'm going to be singing or if I just want to be a little fancy for a party.

Let's take a closer look at the eyeshadow quad. This quad is what I go to when I travel, when I have an audition, or just when I don't know what to wear. It's one of my favorites, and it can be as casual or as dramatic as you want it to be. My favorite thing about this quad is that all of the colors blend together so nicely. Every single color is usable, and that can be rare for most eyeshadow palettes.For this look, I used Serendipitous under the brows, Magnetism on the lid, Fate in the crease, and Apropos in the outer corner.

Tom Ford's Vampire Kiss was released in last year's holiday collection, so I'm sorry to say that it's no longer available. It's one of my favorite reds, so I have been wearing it for everything. I love the tiny bit of metallic sheen in this color. My teeth look really white when I wear this, too!Thank you so much for stopping by for a makeup chat! Do you have any holiday party makeup go-tos? Leave a comment, and let me know!-xoxo Lauren

Hello all! I hope you are well and having an easy, stress free holiday season. I have a little review and giveaway of some candles for you today.

Burning candles is something that I enjoy more in the fall and winter than other times of the year, so I was delighted to be able to review a set of candles from Old Factory. Candles are always great to give as gifts. I know I always resort to giving a scented candle when I don't know what to get someone.

Old Factory Candles offers twelve different sets of candles through Amazon. With each set you get three 2 oz. candles. Each set is $25, and you can get free shipping if you're a Prime member.

I to to try out the Fall Harvest set. Fall related scents are my absolute favorite, and I burn them year round. I really like spicy scents in my home. The Pumpkin Spice candle has a spicy pumpkin pie scent. The Cranberry candle is more of a spicy cranberry than a tart cranberry, and I was pleasantly surprised by this one. The Autumn Leaves candle smells like pine to me. It doesn't smell like the Leaves candle from Bath & Body Works.

These candles are 2 ounces, so they are fairly small. The scent throw is very good, considering the size. I have these in my guest bathroom, and they are the perfect size. Be sure to enter the giveaway below for a chance to win a set of your choosing! Good luck!Before we get to the giveaway, here are some rules.There will be one winner.Must be over 18 to enter.US residents only.Giveaway ends Friday, December 19th at midnight.Raffelcopter will pick the winner, and I will verify the entries.Old Factory will ship the prize. I am not responsible for mailing the prize.The winner has 48 hours to respond, or another winner will be chosen.

Hello all! I didn't intend to take a little break from blogging and my social media accounts, but sometimes life just gets in the way. The holiday season brings a lot of extra family and work responsibilities for me, so that's what I have been doing. I have missed all of you, and I promise to try to do better with staying in touch with all of you through social media and visiting all of your lovely blogs. I have really missed reading your blog posts, so expect visits from me soon!

I have used up quite a bit of products so far this fall, and I have cleaned out some of my makeup stash. Let's check out the empties first!

Covergirl Bombshell Volume by Lashblast: I did not like this mascara at all. The double end wasn't good. Side 1 was fine, but Side 2 just turned my lashes into a clumpy mess. I used up Side 1, but I won't repurchase.

Back to MAC: All of the MAC counters and stores (in the USA, at least) have a recycling program where you can bring in 6 MAC containers and get a free lipstick or lipgloss. If you take your containers to a MAC store, then you can get a free lipstick, lipgloss, or eyeshadow. These are all products that I'm ready to let go. Most of these are almost used up. All of the lipglosses have a funny smell, so I'm sure they have gone bad. MAC Powder Blush-Well Dressed: This is a gorgeous blush for fair skin. I won't repurchase this for a while because I have some similar colors.I probably won't repurchase any of the glosses because I have more glosses than I will use, but I'll list them for you. L-RMAC Cremesheen Glass-Right Image (my favorite of this group); MAC Lipglass-Florabundance; MAC Dazzleglass-Like Venus; MAC Lipglass-Russian Red

I have some other products that I'm throwing away because of broken packaging. The lids keep coming off in my collection, and that just can't be sanitary.

Happy Friday! I'm finally back with another review! Every so often, Gerard Cosmetics will have deals online for their lip glosses. They are currently doing a deal of 3 glosses for $27. A friend of mine sent me a gloss trio the last time Gerard Cosmetics had this deal. Thank you so much! You know who you are.

I thought I was show you what I have since this is really a fantastic deal! I have the colors Sugar Mama, Butter Cream, and Rose Hill.

Each gloss comes with a small mirror, and each one has a light that comes on when you open the tube. I really like the light. It's a neat touch! The mirror isn't good quality at all, and I can't really see well enough out of it to use it. It's a great idea, but I wish it was a better mirror.

Indoor lighting Top to Bottom: Sugar Mama, Butter Cream, Rose Hill

Swatches in direct sunlight

All of the glosses are extremely pigmented and have very good staying power for a gloss. These would be great glosses to try out if you're not really into wearing a gloss. All of these glosses have a light citrus scent to them that is very faint and not overpowering at all. I don't have great lips, so I prefer to wear these paired with a liner or lipstick.

Sugar Mama

Sugar Mama is a pale pink that I really enjoy wearing over a nude or light pink lip liner.

Butter Cream

Butter Cream is described as a creamy pink nude and is one of the glosses created by Jacyln Hill.

Rose Hill

Rose Hill is another Jacyln Hill creation, and is a lovely rose color as the name would suggest. This is my favorite shade out of all three.

Have you tried any of the glosses from Gerard Cosmetics? What colors do you have? I always appreciate your comments!-xoxo Lauren

Hello everyone! Today I have a review of a product that I purchased without any prior knowledge of it. I didn't read any reviews, and I haven't seen anyone else talk about it. I saw this when I went to Ulta with my 20% off unlimited coupon. I was interested in it, but I didn't get it at the time. When I checked out, they gave me a $5 off of a $15 or more purchase good for the next week. Of course I had to go back! Again, I found myself at this display, so I decided to go ahead and get it.

Direct sunlight

The Revlon Photoready Eye Art shadow/liners come in 10 different colors. I got the taupe color called Topaz Twinkle. This one seemed like a safe choice.

Indoor lighting

The packaging of the Eye Art looks exactly like the Nail Art ones from Revlon. For the Eye Art, one side has a liquid eyeshadow, and the other side has a glitter liner.

The eyeshadow side has a flat sponge applicator. I like to just dot this on my eye and blend it out with my fingers or a synthetic eyeshadow brush.

The glitter liner has a brush applicator that comes to a point. I really like the liner applicator because you can get a precise application. The bristles of the brush are so densely packed that I thought it was a rubber applicator at first.

Direct sunlight

Indoor lighting

Just the shadow and liner alone

I took so many pictures of this on my face, and I could not get one to do it justice. I have on the eyeshadow and the liner. I know glitter isn't exactly the most popular thing in makeup, but I think a glitter liner is a lot of fun every now and then. I think this particular liner would look even better over a dark brown or even black liner.

Shadow used as a base with glitter over a black liner

I wanted to see how this eyeshadow would work as a base, so here I am wearing it under MAC Satin Taupe in the crease and MAC All That Glitters on the lid. This eyeshadow was fantastic as a base. It did not budge all day! I used the glitter over a black liquid liner. I think I prefer this combo because there was added definition along with the sparkle. I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I like this product. This is a fun product to have if you get invited to a lot of holiday parties. I think I may get another color the next time Ulta sends me a coupon. Revlon products are never excluded!What do you think? Is this a product you would try? Is a glitter liner a yea or nay for you? Leave a comment below!

Ever since the end of summer, my beauty routine has been all about products that are quick and easy. That doesn't seem to be changing anytime soon, so I have a review of one of my new favorite products that gets the job done with speed. Maybelline's Pumped Up! Colossal Volum'Express mascara has quickly become a new favorite mascara from the drugstore.

This mascara has a huge nylon bristle brush, and mine is in the color Glam Black.

Now, I must admit that even though I have been using this mascara for weeks, I kept messing it up when I went to take pictures for this review. It took almost all week for me to get it right. I tried applying one coat, letting it dry, and applying another coat, but that turned into a bit of a clumpy mess. I really shouldn't have tried that at all because that's not how I use it! One thick but thorough coat is all I need for great lashes with this mascara. Do you think I should have just gone with that in the first place? That lapse in judgement aside, here's a before and after of how I actually use this mascara!

Bare lashes

One heavy coat

I really love the results I get from this mascara, so I can see why this is has been very popular. It applies very wet but dries quickly. Product will transfer to your lower lashes before it dries. That doesn't really bother me, but that's something to take into consideration.

Pros

-length and volume in one quick coat

-affordable price

Cons

-will transfer before it dries

-can get clumpy with multiple coatsOverall, I think Maybelline did a fantastic job with this mascara. It gets my recommendation, especially for the price!Have you tried this mascara? Do you have a favorite mascara from the drugstore? I love hearing from you!-xoxo Lauren

Hello my lovelies! It's October Favorites time! I haven't put up a favorites post in a couple of months because I don't really have many favorites right now. Sadly for me, I've mostly just been wearing minimal makeup most days. Even so, I do have some products that I have been wearing with consistency and loving.

All of these products are what I have been wearing for quick and easy looks on the go.

Kevin Aucoin The Essential Mascara - This sample came in the Glossybox collaboration with Bergdorf Goodman. (I have another post on the entire box here, in case you missed it.) I'm really loving this little sample. It makes my lashes long and thick without having to apply a lot of layers.

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark- This is a product that I may not have included, but I got so many compliments on my nail polish when I wore this last week. It was chipped, and people were still telling me how much they liked it! This super dark purple is such a popular color for fall and winter.

Buxom Stay-There Eye Shadow
in Collie - I have no idea why Buxom discontinued these! I apologize for having a discontinued item on my list. There are some colors available on Amazon for various prices. These are my favorite cream eyeshadows. They have the mousse-like texture similar to the ones from Chanel, but unlike Chanel, these haven't dried out at all. I have several of these, and love them. This shimmery peach has been my go-to eyeshadow lately. (EDIT: A few colors are available at Sephora, and you can find all of the colors one the Bare Escentuals site!)

My favorites aren't extremely exciting, but this is what I have been wearing for most of the month. Thank you all so much for reading! Have a happy and safe Halloween tomorrow if you celebrate!-xoxo Lauren